18 Month Checkup

Hi all! I apologize for the lack of pictures this week. Somehow, we're still in a bit of a schedule tailspin, but I'm hoping to regather our composure soon. I thought I should post a quick report on Joshua's adventure yesterday. We went for his 18 month checkup and the last of his baby shots. (I guess he really ISN'T a baby anymore.)

When we got there yesterday, Joshua was mostly intrigued by the "uffs" (fish) in the fishtank. He kept saying "touch" and I was having a hard time getting him to realize that it's not a good idea to touch the fish...they don't like it. When they called him back, he took off toward Tracy (our nurse yesterday). She giggled and said that it's pretty unusual at the 18 month visit for kids to go back to the exam rooms without protest- they've usually made the connection about what happens when they come to the doctor's office. Just then, the lightbulb went on. And the waterworks started. Joshua proceeded to scream bloody murder through all of the height and weight checks, the temperature taking, and question answering. By the time Tracy was done with all of that and left to get the doctor, Joshua was asking for her to come "back". I kept telling him that she'd be back, although I knew that he wouldn't be pleased with what she came back WITH.

Stats:
23 lb 1 oz (up from 22 lb 5 oz at his 15 month appt). 12th percentile.
35" tall. 95th percentile. (Grew over an inch and a half since 15 months!)

The weight issue is the only less than stellar score out of this whole thing, which I knew would probably be the case. They said that they like for them to stay on the same curve. Joshua has consistently been around 25% for his weight, so they didn't like that he had fallen to the 12th percentile. But, they qualified it by saying that I'm probably worried about it enough already, and not to do anything different than what we're doing. Just feed him as often as we can. They said that if he's really active (you think?) he's probably burning it off as fast as he's eating. And since he LOVES fruit and veggies and isn't big on starch or protein, that doesn't help.

Dr. Nissley came in shortly afterwards and Joshua screamed the whole time he was with him. He talks fast under the best of conditions, but it's fair to say that I didn't hear much of what he said over the hysterics. He was pleased with everything but Joshua's weight, although he said that it's probably going to catch up by the time he gets to his 2 year visit. They were all thrilled with his speech and physical progress, so that was a relief. I was so proud of him when they mentioned that they could tell he was really bright, and was way ahead of the things he should be doing at this age. Let's hope for scholarships!

Here's where the story gets cute. Tracy came back in with Josh's shots. He waved and said "Hi" to her, and then proceeded to talk to her as she washed her hands. He said "hands", "soap" and "dry" as she did all of those things. The screaming resumed for a few more minutes during the shots, but then, through very teary eyes, said "Bub" (bye) to Tracy and waved to her. Then he said "hanks" (thanks) and then "kiss" and blew her a kiss. I could hear her out in the hallway talking to the other nurses. She said "I've never gotten kisses after giving shots before. I made progress!" Once he got dressed and the crying had calmed down, we went out into the hallway. Tracy and a client of mine who I just adore, Donna, were standing there so we stopped to talk. Joshua looked at Tracy and said "Hug" "Kiss" and then gave her one of each. She then gave him a very snazzy Elmo sticker just like the one on her nametag. He was tickled, and I think she was too.

If I haven't already said it a million times, there is something SO wonderful about this age. If I could have a dozen 18 month olds, I think I would take them! I just wish I could bottle this up and save it for teenage years when I'm not feeling the wonderment of motherhood quite so vividly.

So, the plot thickened last night as far as the shots went. Joshua hadn't had too much trouble with the shots during the day. He did keep pointing to his leg and saying "hurt", so we knew it was sore, but he wasn't fevered and wasn't seeming too bothered by the whole thing. Last night after supper, we had a great time playing. Joshua wasn't warm in the least. And then all of a sudden at 7:50, he started to SCREAM. I picked him up to hold him and he felt like he was on fire. Temps were in the 101-102 range every time I took them. I gave him Tylenol right away and then took him up for his bath, thinking that would soothe him a little. The screaming continued for 45 minutes, even through the bath- and he just felt hotter and hotter. Finally, he conked out and felt a little cooler (with cool washcloths on his head), although not much when I put him in bed. The strangest part was his eyes- they were all glassed over, like he couldn't really focus on anything. It scared me... a lot. Neither Jason or I knew what to do. I didn't know whether to call the doctor, head for the ER, or just relax about it and keep an eye on him. We chose the last option (though I definitely said more than a few prayers about it). He slept soundly last night (although I think I checked on him about 5 times) and woke up this morning like nothing ever happened. No fever. One red spot on his leg where he got the shot. I'm pretty sure it was the 4th dose of the DTaP vaccine that did us in. Fingers are crossed that it'll be a quiet day for Grandma without anything like that happening again. Poor little buddy.

Pictures soon, I promise.